Who has impressed Penn State coach James Franklin during spring drills?

James Franklin met with reporters last weekend after Penn State's second spring practice. Here's a recap of his update; watch the full media session above, courtesy of Penn State.

Freshman quarterback Tommy Stevens hasn't looked like a freshman, at least not yet. Stevens, an early enrollee, "created some buzz" with his smooth transition to his first college practices.

"Typically, quarterbacks on their first day of practice, I don't care who they are, look awful," Franklin said. "... They just look bad, and you start second-guessing about why you took them. We haven't seen that from him at all. Actually, it was the opposite. There was a buzz and excitement here about how he threw [the ball]."

Tackle Paris Palmer, another early enrollee, still needs to put on weight. Franklin said Palmer's movements are sharp, but he looks "like a power forward who should be playing for [basketball coach] Pat Chambers."

Palmer, a junior-college transfer competing for the starting spot at left tackle, is listed on Penn State's official roster at 6-7, 278 pounds. Franklin, however, said Palmer is closer to 296.

Still, Palmer has room to grow. Franklin said that, ideally, he'd like to see Palmer play at 310 this season.

Receiver DeAndre Thompkins, a redshirt freshman, has been a speedy addition to the offense. Thompkins' quickness also drew praise from Franklin last spring, though he ultimately redshirted.

So far, Thompkins has been playing fast in 7-on-7 drills. He also has been on the kick-return teams.

"Thompkins got a couple vertical balls and ran, probably different than the way we've had guys run," Franklin said. "He was playing fast. I didn't think he did that last year. He looks like a different guy. If you watch the defensive backs, their technique is not as clean when they line up against him, because they know he can run by them."

One of Franklin's bedrock values is competition, which he said has naturally increased with the larger roster of scholarship players this season. Penn State has a two-deep chart at nearly every position, which has generated more individual duels.

"We had some positions and guys last year, they had no behind them and they knew it," Franklin said. "That can create some challenges."